School-desk.



PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

H. R. WITZKE.

SCHOOL DESK.

APPLICATION FILED 11mm. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Nb. 882,282; PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

H. R. WITZKE. SCHOOL DESK.

-APPLIOAT ION FILED NARA, 1907.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

1 j Illm m I v v I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGO R. WITZKE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SCHOOL-DESK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGO R. WITZKE, citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in School-Desks; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a novel construction in a school desk, theobject being to provide a device of this character which may be adjustedto various sizes to fit pupils of different ages and which is supportedby a single standard, the base of which is so constructed as to enablethe spaces under the desks to be readily swept and easily cleaned andconsists in the features of construction and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention Figure 1 is aside elevation of a school desk constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is afragmentary detail view in elevation on an enlarged scale of the standard employed; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view on anenlarged scale of the seat pivot on the line 44 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is adetail view in elevation of the spring washer employed. Fig. 6 is a plansection on the line 66 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detailvertical section on an enlarged scale on the line 77 of Fig. 2.

Owing to the fact that school desks are relatively small and closelyspaced it is very difficult to maintain school rooms perfectly.

clean, this being due to the difficulty of properly manipulating broomsand brushes between the desks and underneath the latter to sweep thedirt out of all of the corners. It is also necessary with the presentdesks that the same be made in various sizes usually 6 to 8 in numbereach of which requires a separate set of castings, such seats not beingadjustable and requiring that all pupils in a certain grade, whetherrelatively large or small for their ages shall occupy the same,irrespective of their comfort or fitness.

The object of my invention is to provide a desk which primarily willenable the school room to be kept more clean and therefore sanitary withless labor than is required with the present desks generally used, andwhich Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 4, 1907.

Patented March 17, 1908.

Serial No. 360,470.

is further, adjustable so that for example one set of patterns andcastings will answer for several sizes of desks and which in turn willenable individual desks in any given room to be separately adjusted tofit the pupil.

To these and other ends my said invention comprises the standard 1,which is preferably cylindrical and is provided with a substantialcircular base 2 disposed eccentric to said standard 1 and integral withthe latter. The said standard 1 is hollow and is provided exteriorlywith a vertical groove 3 having one of its side walls straight and theother thereof recessed as at 4 to provide a series of notches atdifferent elevations. On said standard 1 is mounted a desk member 5 anda seat member 6. The desk member 5 comprises parallel side platecastings 7 upon which is mounted the plane surface 8 disposed at theusual incline and the back member 9 against which the pupil occupyingthe seat 6 is adapted to lean. The said side plate members 7 arepreferably cast integral with the arms 10 of a split collar 11 disposedon said standard 1, the latter being provided with flanges 12 at itsends, through which the bolt 13 passes, by means of which said collar iscontracted to frictionally engage said standard to support said'collarthereon against lateral movement in any desired position. The saidcollar is provided with an interiorly extending projection 14 consistingpreferably of a pin adapted to enter said groove 3 and said notches 4 inone of the side walls thereof. The said pin serves to support saidcollar at any desired elevation but to absolutely prevent accidental displacement of said pin and consequent falling of said desk portion, thesaid collar 11 is preferably contracted by the bolt 13 and thus firmlyclamped upon said standard. The said seat member 6 is pivotally securedto the free ends of arms 15 of a collar 16, coinciding in constructionwith said collar 11 and which is similarly supported on said standard 1.

As will be seen, the vertical groove 3 is formed with what may be termedtwo parallel and adjacent portions, one being the side which is providedwith the notches, and the other the side which is free from notches. Andthe clamping collars, being free from any inwardly-extending projectionother than that provided by the pin 14, are free, when in unclampedposition, to be moved laterally or in a horizontal plane a distanceequal to the width of the groove including the notched portion, the pin14 limiting this horizontal or lateral movement. When the pin 1 1 isseated in any of the notches, the collar and the parts carried thereby,is supported against a downward movement, but when said pin is moved outof the notches by the lateral movement of the collar, said collar andits parts are unsupported and may move downward or be moved upward toany point included within said groove, so that, when in this position,the collar is unsupported. And in its supported position, the support isformed entirely by the pin and notch, the clamping of the collar simplybinding it against a lateral movement on the standard. It will thereforebe understood that the supporting of the collar and the.

parts carried thereby is positive and dependent in no sense upon africtional engagement of parts, thereby eliminating liability of achange in position of the parts by a yielding under pressure, such aswould result where the opposing frictional-engaging portions of a clampformed the sole dependence against such yielding. In the free end ofsaid arm is an opening 17 for the passage of a pin 18. Concentric withsaid opening 17 is a recess 19 the inner face of the outer wall 20 ofwhich is tapered so as to provide a flaring mouth on said recess. To theseat member 6 are secured two parallel arms 21 which at their rear endsare provided with downwardly disposed semi-circular projections 22having an opening 23 concentric therewith said lastnamed opening, beingslightlylarger in diameter than and adapted to receive said pin 18.-Cor1centric with said opening is an annular flange 24 tapered on itsouter face and adapted to enter said recess 19 the said outer face ofsaid flange 24: being adapted to engage the inner face of the outer Wall20 of said recess 19 toconstitute the pivot on which said seat member isadapted to turn. In this way the said pin 18 is relieved of the strainwhich would otherwise be imparted thereto and a very strong pivotalconnection is thus formed which automatically takes up any wear suchtaking up of wear being particularly effected by means of a radiallysplit spring washer 25 having a central opening 26 through which saidpin 18 passes the latter carrying a washer 27 bearing on said washer 25and held in contact therewith to maintain said washer 25 contracted bymeans of a cotter pin 28 passing through an opening in the free endportion of the shank of said pin 18. The said Washer further has theeflect of maintaining said pivotal connection between said member andsaid arms 15 under a yielding pressure thus preventing the same frombecoming loose and likewise preventing the seat member 6 when turneddown from falling or being violently thrown down and thus producingundesirable noise and other- Wise straining the desk, The pin and cotterpin connection is also very advantageous as compared to the use of boltsfor the reason that such cotter pins are not lost and do not becomeloose unless tampered with and con sequently desks soconstructed willrequire less attention and repair than those now gen erally used. Onsaid arm 21 a projection 29 is provided at one side in the bottom ofwhich is a threaded opening to receive the set screw 30. In the path ofthe head of the latter on said arms 15 of said collar 16 is a projection31, the upper face of which is horizontally disposed. The said screws 30permit of said seat member 6 being slightly raised or lowered at itsfree end to adjust the lower limit of its movement to fit the pupil,thus preventing relatively small pupils from having their lower limbsmaintained dangling in mid-air throughout school hours which is not onlyuncomfortable but is deemed unhealthy.

Should the pupil or several thereof be abnormally small for their agesor grade, one

or several of said desks may be adjusted to render the same fit andcomfortable for such age or grade. By rendering such desk adjustable,the expense of a large number of patterns of various sizes is entirelyavoided and expense of manufacture and market ing thus accordinglyreduced. Furthermore the desk 1s by reason of 1ts single standard andbase better adapted for all school purposes owing to the greater ease ofmaintaining the room clean. The eccentric disposition of the base ofsaid standard is preferable for various reasons, the chief of which arethat such base is kept more particularly out i of the way of the feet ofthe pupil occupying the seat portion of one desk and further that suchdisposition better balances the strains on the standard, it beingobvious that the greatest weight is disposed on the seat itself; 3

The school desk thus constructed is very simple, durable, veryconvenient and relatively cheap.

I claim as my invention:

1. A school desk comprising a hollow cylindrical supporting standardhaving a substantially circular base disposed eccentric thereto, saidstandard having a vertical ios groove formed with one straight wall andan opposing wall provided with recesses at regular intervals, collarslongitudinally movable on said standard, an inwardly extendingprojection on each of collars movable in 'said groove and adapted toenter said recesses to support said collars at different elevations,arms integral with the upper collar, a desk member carried thereby, armson the lower collar, and a seat member pivotally secured to the freeends of said arms.

2. A school desk comprising a hollow standard having a vertical groove,said groove having one straight wall and an opposing Wall provided withrecesses at regular intervals, collars longitudinally movable on saidstandard, an in ardly extending projection on each of collars movable insaid groove and adapted to enter said recesses to support said collarsat different elevations, arms integral with the upper collar, a deskmember carried thereby, arms on the lower collar, and a seat memberpivotally secured to the free ends of said arms.

3. A school desk comprising a hollow cylindrical standard having avertical groove, said groove being formed with one straight Wall and anopposing Wall provided ith recesses at regular intervals, split collarsI 4 l r i longitudinally movable on said standard and adapted tobecontracted to form a clamping connection with the standard, aninwardly extending projection 011 each of collars movable in said grooveand adapted to enter said on the lower collar, and a seat member piv- 25otally secured to the free ends of said arms.

In testimony whereof I. have signed my name in presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

HUGO R. WITZKE.

l/Vitnesses:

P. C. WINN,

